This week, I want to discuss an important movie in my life. Edward Scissorhands. It was actually the movie that got me hooked on Tim Burton movies, due to it’s highlight on a character that scared others simply because he was a little different. I mean, what teenager doesn’t feel a little scared at the prospect of being labeled as different in junior high, and even through high school?

The beauty of Tim Burton movies, is that he chooses to highlight characters that one would be sympathetic to. He strives to teach us a lesson about not judging a person by their abilities or disabilities. He also strives to teach his audiences not to judge someone by how they look, act, or speak. The character of Edward cannot help who he is, and what he cannot do (due to his not having flesh and blood hands). This movie was the first time I realized what a genius Tim Burton is. He seems to love to carry this theme through all of his works.

Here I include a few videos of what makes you love the character of Edward. If there are others I should include, please feel free to let me know.

However, the purpose of this post is not meant to be a walking advertisement for the Auteur that Tim Burton is. I mean to highlight a few of the brilliant actors that Burton chose to bring his characters, and by association his wonderful story, alive.

The first actor I wish to highlight, is Johnny Depp, who Tim Burton likes to use in many of his films. According to the author of our text, Goodykoontz, Johnny Depp can be considered to be a Wild Card actor. I’m more likely to agree, not just because I think Johnny Depp is a crazy guy who picks crazy characters to play.

Oh no. It’s because of the wide range of characters that he can play. You have some characters he has created who are the hopelessly dreary who you just want to strangle (Victor Van Dort from Corpse Bride) for being so obtuse to the Corpse Bride, and some wild and fun characters (Captain Jack Sparrow from the Pirates of the Caribbean movies) you wish you could meet in person and instantly engage in an epic pun-off. If you ever need a full-out description of a Wild Card actor, you have it here in Johnny Depp.

The second actor (actress, if you will) I wish to highlight, is Winona Ryder. She is what Goodykoontz would term to be a Character Actress. All of the characters she has chosen to take on over the course of her career have been a wide array of individuals who have an important contribution to make to the storyline of the movie. Winona has been known to adopt her way of acting to suit what the director needs out of her character. For example, she has been a Black Swan character with a mean streak. She has also been a “basket case” in Girl, Interrupted. She has also played the part of a teenager who thinks that she is smarter than everyone around her because she has sympathy toward her fellow man. Such was the case with her role in Beetlejuice. Winona can also be the romantic interest to a character who cannot even hold her to show her how he feels, in the case of Edward Scissorhands.

The third actor I wish to highlight, is Anthony Michael Hall. During the first part of his career, he was typecast as the nerd who didn’t quite get the nuances of most social situations (The Breakfast Club, Sixteen Candles, and Weird Science). It did take me awhile into his career that I realized how genius breaking free from that typecast was for him. When Anthony did that, we started to realize how much of a Character Actor he really is. Like Winona, Anthony has the ability to adapt his acting styles to match what the Director requires of him. It is actually during his role of the cruel jock in Edward Scissorhands, that we begin to see that there was more to this young (at the time) actor. We start to see that he has more tricks up his sleeves, if you will.

I hope you like my analysis of this film and the actors in it. . -Silver-